Yan Zhuang

When Prime Minister Balendra Shah of Nepal addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, the dark sunglasses perched on his nose were already a familiar sight to Nepalis.

Shah, 36, known across his country simply as Balen, rarely appears in public without them.

He was in New York partly to urge the international community to help fund the recovery of less-developed nations disproportionately affected by climate-linked disasters. “Climate change does not recognise borders,” he told the General Assembly, describing last month’s deadly glacial floods in Nepal as “a warning to the world”.

While speaking, Shah paired his shades with other elements of his customary uniform: a black suit and a traditional Nepalese hat.

A profile published earlier by The Kathmandu Post described a politician who meticulously manages his public image. Shah keeps the sunglasses on for cameras and meetings with foreign ambassadors, but removes them during Cabinet meetings and private discussions.

The eyewear adds to his mystique. Shah rarely gives news conferences or interviews, preferring to communicate directly through social media platforms.

The look has become recognisable enough that it serves as a commercial asset: a search for “Balen Shah glasses” on Daraz, one of Nepal’s largest online marketplaces, yields several styles modelled on his signature shades.

He has worn the glasses since his days as a rapper competing in head-to-head battles in Nepal’s underground hip-hop scene, when tracks like “Nepal Smiling” earned him a devoted youth following.

In 2022, Shah shocked the country’s political establishment by winning the mayoral election in Kathmandu as an independent candidate. By then, the black suit and dark glasses reinforced his image as a political outsider unburdened by traditional party affiliations.

He carried that trademark style onto the campaign trail after a youth-led uprising in September 2025 toppled the government led by KP Sharma Oli. In parliamentary elections held in March, Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party won a historic landslide, and he personally defeated Oli in an eastern constituency on his way to becoming prime minister.

Since taking office, Shah has worn the dark sunglasses in parliament, at state ceremonies, during military parades, and even in his official portrait.

However, Shah has occasionally appeared in public without his trademark eyewear. In July, he removed them during an address urging calm following deadly Hindu-Muslim clashes in southern Nepal. Observers noted that looking directly into the camera without glasses suited the gravity of the situation.

He also took off the sunglasses while touring sites where catastrophic floods had torn through the Himalayas, wiping out bridges and entire towns. Months earlier, he had removed them before a cheering crowd to tell supporters, “I love you.”

In August, Shah ran into a brief administrative hurdle over his eyewear when Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal announced that dark sunglasses would no longer be permitted during proceedings in the House of Representatives, following criticism from fellow lawmakers.

Soon, Shah’s office cited medical advice from a doctor instructing the prime minister to wear dark glasses to protect his eyes from bright light, effectively bringing the parliamentary debate to a close.